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An Invitation to Health: Building Your Future, Brief Edition, 9eDianne Hales

Your Psychological and Spiritual Well-Being

2

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After reading this chapter, the student should be able to:

• Identify the characteristics of emotionally healthy individuals

• Summarize the components of positive psychology that can lead to a happy and purposeful life

• Discuss the impact of spirituality on individuals

Objectives

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• Review the relationship between sleep and health

• Relate mental health to a person’s overall well-being

• Describe the key factors related to depressive disorders, their symptoms, and treatments

• Summarize four categories of anxiety disorders

Objectives (cont’d.)

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• Identify the risk factors, symptoms, and therapeutic approaches for other mental disorders discussed in this chapter

• Outline the patterns of committing or attempting suicide among Americans

• List treatment options available for mental disorders

Objectives (cont’d.)

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• Characteristics of emotionally healthy people– Determination and effort to be healthy

– Flexibility to deal with changing circumstances

– Sense of meaning and purpose

– Compassion for others

– Sense of control over mind and body

– Increased depth and satisfaction in personal relationships

Emotional Health

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• Ability to perceive reality and the motivations of others

• Ability to function and carry out responsibilities

• Ability to form relationships

• Ability to adapt to change and cope with adversity

Mental Health

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• Aspects of the human condition that lead to happiness, fulfillment, and flourishing

• Develop self-compassion– Healthy self-acceptance

• Boost emotional intelligence– Ability to use emotions to guide thinking and

actions

The Lessons of Positive Psychology

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• Meet your needs– Recognize physical and emotional needs

• Include safety, security, love, and self-esteem

• Boost self-esteem– Feeling of belief and pride in ourselves

– Develops over time

– Strategy: develop practice of positive thinking and talking

Lessons of Positive Psychology (cont’d.)

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© Cengage Learning 2016

• Happy people:– Live eight to nine years longer

– Make $15,000 more per year

– Less likely to become divorced

• Roots of happiness– Genetic component (50 percent)

– Life circumstances (10 percent)

– Thoughts, beliefs, and behaviors (40 percent)

Pursuit of Happiness

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• Become optimistic– Inclined to anticipate the best possible

outcome

– People can change outlook over time• Cognitive-behavioral techniques

• Manage your moods– Sustained emotional state lasting for days

– Determine and change the cause of a bad mood if possible

More Lessons of Positive Psychology

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• Ability to identify basic purpose in life

• Spirituality– Belief in a higher power

– Gives rise to strong sense of purpose, values, morals, and ethics

– May be expressed through religion• Particular system of faith and worship

– Church attendance may add two to three years of life

• Sense of community

Spiritual Health

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• Spiritual intelligence– Discovery of a wisdom within ourselves

– Sense of inner peace

– Tap into highest parts of ourselves, others, and the world

• Clarify values– Consider consequences of actions

– Choose freely

– Publicly affirm and act out values

Achieving Spiritual Health

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• Sit quietly

• Start small

• Step outside

• Use activity to tune into your spirit

• Ask questions of yourself

• Trust your spirit

• Develop a spiritual practice– May be religious or non-religious

Spiritual Enrichment

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• Most commonly used form of complementary and alternative medicine

• Prayer:– Boosts morale

– Lowers agitation, loneliness, and life dissatisfaction

– Enhances ability to cope

– Fosters a state of peace and calm

Consider the Power of Prayer

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• Benefits of a grateful spirit– Improved mood

– Increased energy

– More positive views of the social environment

– Better sleep

– More productive coping strategies

– Greater appreciation of life and possessions

• Strategy: keep a diary and record three things each day for which you are grateful

Cultivate Gratitude

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• Letting go of anger and pain

• Reclaims power to choose

• A process, not a one-time event

• Involves the conscious and unconscious mind

Forgiveness

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• One-third of Americans say they get enough sleep

• 50 to 70 million adults suffer from sleep disorders

• Student night life and alcohol use compound sleep problems for college students

• Sleep has many impacts on health– One example: body’s immunity to disease

Sleepless on Campus

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• Mental disorders can undermine physical well-being

• Undergraduates living on campus– Lower depression rates than those living off

campus

• Students with past or current financial distress– Greater likelihood of depression and anxiety

Understanding Mental Health

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© Cengage Learning 2016

• Key contributors to depression in college students– Stress

– Too little sleep

– Academic or athletic pressures

• Depression twice as common in women– Brain chemistry and sex hormones play a role

Depressive Disorders

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• Sadness that does not end

• Destroys a person’s joy for living

• Little interest in pleasurable activities

• Lack of concentration

• Trouble sleeping and lack of energy

• Eating more or less than usual

• Feeling helpless

• Contemplating suicide

Major Depressive Disorder

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• Medication– Most common treatment approach today

• Psychotherapy (talk therapy)– Combination of psychotherapy and

medication most effective approach for most

• Bipolar disorder (manic depression)– Mood swings from depressive to euphoric

– Affects about four percent of the population

Treating Depression

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• Phobias

• Panic attacks– Reach peak intensity within ten minutes

– Panic disorder: recurring attacks

• Generalized anxiety disorder– Excessive or unrealistic apprehension that

causes physical symptoms

• Obsessive-compulsive disorder– Involves recurring thought and action

Anxiety Disorders

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• ADHD– Common disorder in childhood

– Inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsivity

• Autism spectrum disorder– Four times more likely to occur in boys than

girls

– Causes: genetic factors, maternal trauma, brain abnormalities, parental age

– Symptoms usually occur before age two

Other Common Disorders

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• Schizophrenia– One of the most debilitating mental disorders

– Symptoms include hallucinations, delusions, and disorganized thinking

– Strong genetic basis

• Nonsuicidal self-injury– Deliberately harming oneself

– Intent: to relieve painful thoughts or feelings

– Usually starts in the early teens

Other Disorders (cont’d.)

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• 1.1 million Americans attempt suicide yearly– Two-thirds experienced depressive symptoms

at time of their death

– Whites at highest risk

– Increased significantly among middle aged men and women

• 4.5 million suicide survivors in the U.S.

• Many factors influence suicide

Suicide

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• 75% of those needing treatment do not receive treatment– Median delay is 10 years

• Mental health counseling– Psychotherapy

– Psychodynamic therapy

– Cognitive-behavioral therapy

• Psychiatric drugs

Overcoming Problems of the Mind